Castle Donington College Trips and Activities Policy Date ratified and adopted by governing body 4 th November 2013 Date for review November 2016
Introduction At Castle Donington College we believe that off-site trips and activities broaden and develop teaching and learning experiences that are not available in the classroom. Off-site trips and activities provide opportunities for the enhancement of learning within the National Curriculum. They also allow opportunities for pupils to participate in activities that develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of Personal, Social, Health and Economics Education, Citizenship, Health and Safety, Values for our Society and experience the wider community. All employees have both a duty and a responsibility to take reasonable care to avoid injury to themselves and others and to co-operate to ensure statutory duties and obligations are fulfilled. The College s Trips and Activities Policy can only be successfully implemented with the full co-operation of everyone concerned. Each year the College will arrange a number of educational trips and activities as either part of the College curriculum or an enhancement to the curriculum that take place off the College site and/or out of College hours, which support the aims of the College. The Governing Body has given its approval to the following types of activities being arranged as part of or an enhancement to the curriculum. Out of hours clubs (music, drama, art, science, sport, homework, etc) College teams Regular local trips and activities (village halls, libraries, shops, parks and woodlands places of worship, farms) Day trips and activities for particular year groups Residential trips and activities Overseas trips and activities Adventurous activities, which might be classed as higher risk Theatre and Cultural trips and activities Aims and Objectives The aim of this document is to ensure the safety of the College s pupils and staff when they are engaged in any College activity. This policy must be followed when planning any off-site trip or activity. It is essential that staff planning an off-site trip or activity have read the relevant sections of the policy, related local authority documents and discuss the trip or activity with their line manager, the EVC and the Vice Principal in charge of trips and activities. Inclusion Policy Statement Trips and activities are a valuable part or enhancement of the curriculum at Castle Donington College. All pupils are encouraged to participate irrespective of social background, culture, race, differences in ability and disabilities. All pupils have an entitlement to be taken out on education trips and trips and activities that are linked directly to the curriculum. However, specific circumstances may occur where, a pupil s entitlement to go on a trip or activity may be denied on the grounds of risk management or due to sanctions on the pupil. Each case will be assessed on the issues at hand and all possible avenues will be considered to try and overcome the problems 2
For all trips and activities, Teachers will set appropriate learning objectives, respond to pupils diverse learning needs and the College will make provision, where necessary, to support pupils to enable them to participate effectively in off-site trips and activities, plan accordingly to ensure equality of opportunity and ensure reasonable adjustments are made for any pupils with Special Educational Needs. Scope These procedures apply, in the appropriate context, to single day trips and activities, to longer journeys at home or abroad involving overnight stays, and to any trip or activity in or outside normal College hours (including weekends and holidays) which is organised by the staff of the College. Approval & Notification Members of staff wishing to organise trips and activities must obtain the Principal/Vice Principal s approval before publishing arrangements or entering into any commitment. A Request to Organise a Trip form should be completed and agreed with the Vice Principal. Requests for approval should indicate the nature of the trip, learning objectives and highlight any activities that may be regarded as hazardous. The Trip Leader is responsible for completing all risk assessments prior to the trip or activity. These must be completed using the Castle Donington College template and must include travel to and from the venue, the activities and individual student concerns. Risk Assessments (Plan A) for all proposed activities must also be submitted with the approval application. A Plan B should be factored into the risk assessment to cover possible changes to events and arrangements and a Dynamic Risk Assessment must also be completed if, whilst on the trip, arrangements already risk assessed change. Once the trip has been agreed with the Vice Principal, a Trip Organiser s Responsibilities form must be completed and returned to the Vice Principal before the trip can proceed. Regular Extra Curricular Activities Extra-curricular activities that recur regularly (e.g. football training, weekly activity clubs etc) require approval before commencement, but approval then applies for the entire College year, subject to prior written notification to the Principal of any changes to regular arrangements. College Day Off-site trips and activities Letters to parents/carers should have full details of the trip or activity including: Educational justification of trip or activity (i.e. part of the curriculum or an enhancement to the curriculum Date and times for trip or activity Activities to be carried out/draft itinerary Transport arrangements Supervision by staff Behaviour expectation (pupils) Clothing and equipment needed Eating arrangements (if required) Parental/carer permission slip for signature 3
Medical consent form/ diet information(if required) Emergency contact name and phone number Residential Trips and activities A detailed plan of the proposed residential trip should be presented to the Vice Principal and risk assessment discussed and reviewed with EVC. The planning for a residential trip should include: Inspection Visit undertaken if possible Letter to parents/carers/carers with plan of trip including dates Payment scheme including confirmation whether or not a deposit is non-returnable Payment cards as receipt of payments Booking centre to be visited Individual Passports (if outside of UK) EHIC (if outside of UK) Parents/carers meeting (Final details) Behaviour contracts (if appropriate) All items under heading College day off-site trips and activities must also be taken into consideration for residential trip. Parental Consent Specific consent must be obtained from the parent/carer(s) of every child before commencement of any trip together with a Medical Consent form for all trips and activities and overnight stays. The appropriate Code of Conduct for pupils on College trips and activities should be signed by children and witnessed by parents/carers. Insurance The College has very comprehensive insurance cover for pupils for all onsite and offsite activities including trips. The cover includes Personal Accident, Medical Expenses, Cancellation or Curtailment, Baggage and Money, Personal Liability, and Delay Cover (if abroad), and applies to travel world-wide. The policy has limits on payments and in some categories excesses apply. A copy of the current policy may be obtained from the College Business Manager. If an incident occurs which may give rise to a claim, liability should not be admitted at the time, but the matter should be referred to the College Finance Office as soon as is practically possible. Losses or theft that might result in an insurance claim should be advised to the local police in accordance with the requirements of the policy. On trips within the EU, some medical cover is provided by the pupil s own EHIC card which is available, on application to the DHSS for all EU nationals. Supervision Participation in College trips by staff is greatly valued and beneficial to staff development. Places on any College trip must be advertised to all staff including teaching, support and student teachers of the College, once an application has been approved in principle. 4
The College will follow the Leicestershire County Council Guide, The Conduct of Educational Trips and Adventurous Activities, to ensure that staff to pupil ratio is correct. A meeting between the Vice Principal and the Trip Leader will be organised to decide on the staffing arrangements with the determination based on considerations including: Number of persons required to satisfy minimum statutory requirements and the risk assessments; Number of qualified persons required both educationally and providing support e.g. first aiders; Detriment or disruption that may affect the education of remaining pupils resulting from a staff member being away on a trip (e.g. teaching staff of a whole department being away on the same trip would usually be detrimental or disruptive to remaining pupils); The cost to the College in provisioning adequate cover for a staff member whilst away on a trip (e.g. teaching and support staff must be equally considered to minimise the cost to the College); The equitability of the selection process and eligibility where multiple staff wish to accompany a trip, considering factors such as relevance to risk management/health and safety and pupil wellbeing, value to pupil education and/or staff development and the staffing of previous trips. The College does not normally support additional people such as relatives and friends of staff in accompanying education trips and activities. Staff may propose including additional people where an educational benefit can be demonstrated to facilitate the inclusion of pupils or preserve a trip where minimum staffing cannot be achieved using College staff. If additional people other than staff are accompanying a trip they must hold a current Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Criminal Records Check Certificate. The College Business Manager is able to confirm that an individual s check is valid. Each trip should have a minimum of two members of staff so if there is an incident/injury one may have to leave the trip or activity with the other member of staff remaining in loco parentis on behalf of the College. At least one of these members of staff should hold a current first aid qualification. All incidents must be telephoned to the College as soon as possible. Staff should follow the instructions of the Trip Leader and help with the control and discipline of the pupils. They must also do their best to ensure the health and safety of everyone in the group and act as any responsible parent would do in the same circumstances. Staff should consider stopping the trip or the activity, notifying the Trip Leader, if they think the risk to health and safety of the pupils in their charge is unacceptable. Staff on residential trips must ensure that there is no alcoholic consumption whilst on duty. Staff on down time during a residential trip may drink alcohol in moderation, but must remain in a position to help duty staff if extra support is needed. If staff wish to smoke, then this must be away from the pupils and in accordance with the law. 5
Finance/Costing of Journeys The member of staff in charge of a trip or activity is responsible for ensuring that the full costs involved are covered either by parental contribution or by alternative arrangement. The following main costs need to be considered but others will apply depending on the nature of the journey: Accommodation Food Travel/transfers Entrance Fees Excursions Administration costs in organising the journey Insurance Contingencies Accounts A record of payments and receipts is kept and supported by documentary evidence. The records are available at any time for examination by the Principal and or the Business Manager and will be reviewed annually by the College s Auditors. They should be retained at the College for a minimum period of seven years. For all practical purposes the College Finance Office will act as the bank for all College trips and journeys. All income relating to the journey should be passed to the Finance Office and all payments should be requested from them In no circumstances should the personal accounts of members of staff be used for any College activity. Where a pupil withdraws from a trip, or is banned from a trip because of bad behaviour, after arrangements have been made, sufficient funds should be withheld from the contributions already made by that pupil s parents/carers in order to cover any irrecoverable costs incurred on the pupil s behalf. Where pupil is unable to attend a trip through illness or other authorised circumstances, the College will endeavour to refund part of the amount paid if the place can be filled by another pupil, excluding any unrecoverable costs. On return from a journey, surplus funds should be repaid to parents/carers where the sums are significant (minimum 5 per child depending on the original cost). Any remaining surplus should be held over as contingency for succeeding trips/payment of insurance. Parental Contributions For trips and activities that are part of curricular activity and which take part wholly or mainly in College time, parents/carers should be asked to make a voluntary contribution. If any cannot or will not, their children cannot be excluded from the activity, the cost being met by department funds. Clearly if a significant proportion does not pay, then the College may decide not to make good the shortfall in income and the activity will not go ahead. 6
For journeys and trips and activities that are an enhancement to the curriculum (i.e. that take place wholly or mainly out of College hours), full cost recovery from parental contribution is the norm. In cases of financial hardship that would otherwise prevent the child from participating, parents/carers should be invited to apply to the College Governing Body for assistance. Parental Communications The need for close communication with parents/carers is obvious, so that they are assured of the whereabouts and the safety of their children at all times, and to forestall potential problems. The College Office must be advised of all trip itineraries and contact phone numbers so that contact with the party can be maintained at all times. If the trip finishes outside College hours or away from the College premises, the Vice Principal, Business Manager and parent/carers must be notified of the arrangements for safe dismissal of pupils. Careful consideration must be given, in particular, to dismissal arrangements late in the evening. Accidents, First Aid and Emergency Procedures The College will appoint a member of SLT as the emergency College contact for each trip. All major incidents should immediately be communicated to this person, especially those involving injury or that might attract media attention. The Trip Leader will leave full details of all students and accompanying adults on the trip with the emergency College contact and Reception. Any injury incurred by a pupil or member of staff on a trip should be reported by completion of an Accident Report Form as for all accidents within the College. (If required, a RIDDOR form and insurance claim form must also be completed). First Aid and Medical Details When obtaining permission from parents/carers to take pupils on a trip or activity, information must be sought as to the relevant medical details. All members of staff accompanying the pupils must be fully aware of any particular requirements. Normally in the event of an emergency requiring a pupil(s) to be taken to hospital, the member of staff in charge will act in loco parentis. In non-life threatening situations permission to administer treatment and anaesthetic will normally be given once parents/carers have been contacted. In a dire life-threatening emergency the member of staff must check the Emergency Contact List to ascertain whether permission has been granted by the parents/carers for the administration of medical treatment or anaesthetic. Members of staff are not authorised to give permission if parents/carers have not indicated that this is acceptable (every effort will be made to gain medical treatment permission). A proper College first aid kit must be taken on all trips and activities. The administration of medicines should be in keeping with the College s rules. 7
Transport Where possible, all pupils should travel on a coach or minibus organised by the College from reputable contractors and that the buses have seat belts on all passenger seats. On rare occasions, because of low numbers or costs involved, pupils sometimes travel in cars. Where this happens the following procedure must be followed: The parents are informed of the mode of transport. They must sign a consent form/letter to say that they agree to their son/daughter travelling in the car of a member of staff. A car risk assessment is prepared Staff to provide proof of roadworthiness of vehicle and insurance to Business Manager. Matches After College hours and on Saturdays Although prior parental consent for fixtures is not required, it is important that parents/carers should be made aware of arrangements for reporting and dismissal for home matches, additionally the methods of transport for away matches, and arrangements for emergencies and cancellations. A register of attendees and venues must be left on Reception together with estimated start and end times. Evaluation All trips and activities should be evaluated by the Trip Leader and a report should be submitted to the Vice Principal. The Trip Leader should ensure that any risk assessments for the trips and activities or activities are evaluated and/or modified as a result of findings, near misses or feedback from the trip. 8